Scary run-in with the police today.

RAMOSS said:

I personally hope that the Marijuana laws get changed on a national level. In NYS, there is the medical marijuana laws, and just last year it got expanded to include PTSD as one of the items that can be treated with it. But MJ should be taken off of schedule one, where it had no business being in the first place.

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exactly; thank you

this is the asshole we pretty much have to thank for the insanity surrounding 'weed' ..............
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_J._Anslinger

I was telling folks in 1976 (at the age of 15) that pot should be legal in every state; everyone just looked at me like I was ****ing crazy ...........

Marijuana laws are so f'd up. Glad to hear that you ran into some cops that weren't complete a-holes.

Skeptic Bob said:

tldr: Skeptic Bob gets pulled over by cops. They take his weed and let him go. Skeptic Bob still whines like a bitch despite his good luck.

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Odd they usually hide on the other side to sieze your cash.

Dragonfly said:

Just out of curiosity, why did you dip so far south on your trip home?
Seems like a very indirect way to get from Colorado to Virginia. :shrug:

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I was wondering the same thing. I make the Virginia - Boulder trip fairly regularly. It's fortunate Bob went south. Had the same thing happened in Illinois, Bob would be a permanent resident.

Federal firearms and pot laws need to be changed. Reciprocal at the very least. Until they are, government is forcing law abiding citizens to break the law.

Wow! I didn't realize dogs can smell sealed vape fluid. That sucks.

Dragonfly said:

Just out of curiosity, why did you dip so far south on your trip home?
Seems like a very indirect way to get from Colorado to Virginia. :shrug:

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"Reroute my trip............LA via Omaha!"

calamity said:

Wow! I didn't realize dogs can smell sealed vape fluid. That sucks.

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Dogs can scent anything if theyre trained to do it. I think there was a mythbusters episode where they tried to use peppers, wrapped stuff in tons of plastic and tape and the dogs still found them.

KevinKohler said:

I get what you're saying....but you have to admit, it's asinine that he can't drive through another state legally with something he legally purchased from a different state.

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I've never tried to drive from CO back to AZ with stuff. I am going to drive to NV soon, not sure if I want to risk anything. I have flown with some edibles, gummies that were mixed into a big bag of assorted nuts and dried fruit in my carry-on. I need to buck up and get my medical card, I have 3 brothers with cards, and it helps them greatly, they all have neck/knee injuries from doing Judo as kids and wrestling in HS (I was the only kid not to do Judo/wrestling in my family...something I am very happy now about). Other brother has kidney stones every month for last 40 years, he has destroyed his two kidneys and has one transplanted from another brother. Medical marijuana works for so many things, pain, panic attacks, etc.

calamity said:

Wow! I didn't realize dogs can smell sealed vape fluid. That sucks.

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They can sniff out a lot. I read once where people who smuggled Jews out of Germany would often keep little handkerchiefs with cocaine powder in them, along with blood of some sort. When the Nazis would bring their dogs to search ships, trucks, train cars, etc., the person with the handkerchief would try to get the dog to sniff it. If it did (the story goes) the cocaine the dog inhaled would temporarily destroy its sense of smell.

I don't know if that story is true -- but I like to think it is.

HowardBThiname said:

They can sniff out a lot. I read once where people who smuggled Jews out of Germany would often keep little handkerchiefs with cocaine powder in them, along with blood of some sort. When the Nazis would bring their dogs to search ships, trucks, train cars, etc., the person with the handkerchief would try to get the dog to sniff it. If it did (the story goes) the cocaine the dog inhaled would temporarily destroy its sense of smell.

I don't know if that story is true -- but I like to think it is.

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Cayane pepper. Destroys the snozz for days.

Skeptic Bob said:

tldr: Skeptic Bob gets pulled over by cops. They take his weed and let him go. Skeptic Bob still whines like a bitch despite his good luck.

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Oh my goodness, brother, so sorry to hear about this. Sounds like you and I medicate in exactly the same way to manage the same symptoms, if for different reasons. I'm unable to take the prescription meds either, the side effects impact me too heavily. I don't need to be turned into an impotent zombie who can't **** solid, or feel anything on any emotional level whatsoever, I just need to shut down the noise for a bit in the day, and be able to sleep.

Sharing only to let you know your reaction wasn't shameful, I was pulled over once...bad anxiety morning, ****ty day ahead, and I was doing 3 km/h under what would have gotten me a charge of stunt driving (something they give you up here when you're doing 50km/h or more above the speed limit), because I tried to pass a pair of jackass pickup truck drivers pulling trailers who only found their gas peddles when I started to pass them. Despite starting on a broken line, there was a hill ahead, over which a car appeared coming at me, so I floored it to get past the trucks. Turns out the car was a cop, and got me on radar.

She could have nailed me, but ended up letting me go with a $50 ticket, no points. The overwhelming sense of relief, combined with the crushing anxiety of the trapped / in trouble feeling, had me fighting with everything I had not to start sobbing in front of her, to the point where she literally said "Dude, it's just a traffic violation"... Took ten minutes after she left before I was able to get control of myself enough to start driving again.

So, I can only imagine what this must have been like.

I'll echo what others say here...you have nothing to be ashamed of. You were broken in service of others. The shameful thing is that the country you served won't support what you need to do to live with the cost. Thank goodness the cops were understanding...though they could have left you your meds...

I'm sorry you can't live in a place where your medical needs are accepted and not stigmatized. I couldn't live where you are - I can't even really travel to the states without getting a heavy prescription of something like lorazepam, which I call my coma pills. Just not worth it, I only come down for business.

I know it's easy for people to say "Just move"...but obviously there's jobs, family, routines to think about (with the routines sometimes being the hardest to leave behind. But if it's at all possible, you should consider it. You shouldn't have to feel like a criminal for just trying to make yourself well. People are prescribed far more dangerous drugs for less, and never have to feel that way, it's a farce.

Hope today's a better day, homie...if you ever wanna chat without an audience, don't hesitate to PM me. Take it easy.

Skeptic Bob said:

The trooper comes back and opens the door.

Trooper: alright, so I am going to issue a warning for the traffic violation.
Me: yes, sir. Thank you.
Trooper: we put everything back, except the weed of course. Your firearm is still under your seat and your car keys are on top of your car. Drive safe and don’t do this in Oklahoma again, ok?
Me: ...
Trooper: get out of here.

I get out of his car and I actually shake their hands and say thank you. And then I got the hell out of there.

During rest of the drive I did some thinking and came to a few conclusions.

First, the officers really cut me a break. I had enough weed that they could have made a case for intent to sell. I think the way I conducted myself, from announcing the presence of a weapon at the very beginning and not lying and having a clean record and being a veteran probably helped sway them.

Second, it is so ****ed up that the government won’t let me use something that helps me cope with a condition that I got in the service of that same government.

Third, I need to consider moving to a free state so I don’t risk going through that again.

Fourth, this issue I have is worse than I thought. The stress from that incident was enough for me to lose my grip on reality for a moment. It could have triggered a fight or flight response. What if I had been armed in that moment when I delusionally thought lives were on the line?

So for the time being I have turned my guns over to my best friend for safe keeping. I know there is a risk in doing that as well, but I don’t know what else to do.

God DAMN it, I’m crying again. I just want to live a normal ****ing life without these “demons” knocking around in my brain.

I’ll stop. I wasn’t intending to rehash this thread. It is 4:00 am. I guess I should try to sleep.

I could really have used that weed right about now. Oh well.

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I feel your pain. Really...I do. As a two-tour vet of the Vietnam War, I have more than an inkling of what you are going through.

But GOD DAMMIT!!! Why the ****!! did you do this stupid ****!!??

1. Okay, you drove from VA to Boulder ****ing Colorado for meetings...for your work. Yeah, I "suppose" that could be reasonable...but it raises flags.

2. You have a CCW permit. That's good. You brought your gun along. Okay. But you kept it in a locked box. Why did you bring it? For emergencies? In a locked box? Useless. For Boulder CO? Seriously? A freaking liberal college town? It's not like you were hanging out on E. Colfax, for god's sake.

3. And then, knowing you were transporting illegal drugs cross-country, you do stupid **** like camping in a passing lane and changing lanes without a turn signal...AFTER you see the cop car.

sigh...

Dude...I feel your pain...really, I do...but dude...you HAVE to stop doing stupid ****.

Mycroft said:

I feel your pain. Really...I do. As a two-tour vet of the Vietnam War, I have more than an inkling of what you are going through.

But GOD DAMMIT!!! Why the ****!! did you do this stupid ****!!??

1. Okay, you drove from VA to Boulder ****ing Colorado for meetings...for your work. Yeah, I "suppose" that could be reasonable...but it raises flags.

2. You have a CCW permit. That's good. You brought your gun along. Okay. But you kept it in a locked box. Why did you bring it? For emergencies? In a locked box? Useless. For Boulder CO? Seriously? A freaking liberal college town? It's not like you were hanging out on E. Colfax, for god's sake.

3. And then, knowing you were transporting illegal drugs cross-country, you do stupid **** like camping in a passing lane and changing lanes without a turn signal...AFTER you see the cop car.

sigh...

Dude...I feel your pain...really, I do...but dude...you HAVE to stop doing stupid ****.

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I was just thinking that he should have driven through Kansas instead of OK. I'm not sure why he veered so far South. I would have hopped on I-70 and stayed on it until St Louis, then hopped on 64 into VA. There is no reason to take I-40 at all.

Dragonfly said:

Just out of curiosity, why did you dip so far south on your trip home?
Seems like a very indirect way to get from Colorado to Virginia. :shrug:

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I’m seeing a friend a Memphis for lunch.

I’m seeing my step-brother outside of Memphis today and that was the route the GPS plotted. I just now woke up with 40 DP notifications. Fortunately I did manage some sleep.

Skeptic Bob said:

I’m seeing a friend a Memphis for lunch.

I’m seeing my step-brother outside of Memphis today and that was the route the GPS plotted. I just now woke up with 40 DP notifications. Fortunately I did manage some sleep.

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On the plus side the artist for President Obama's portrait must've visited Debate Politics at some point and was inspired by your icon, so there's a positive to take away from this week

Skeptic Bob said:

tldr: Skeptic Bob gets pulled over by cops. They take his weed and let him go. Skeptic Bob still whines like a bitch despite his good luck.

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Well, at least they didn't murder you, they do that ya know.

calamity said:

I was just thinking that he should have driven through Kansas instead of OK. I'm not sure why he veered so far South. I would have hopped on I-70 and stayed on it until St Louis, then hopped on 64 into VA. There is no reason to take I-40 at all.

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Yeah, MO would be oh so different.

PoS said:

Whoa, what a story. It makes me want to write (not this, but just in general).

I would say count your blessings. If those cops followed the letter of the law you'd be in jail, so you dodged a howitzer shell right there.

Second, are there legal drug alternatives to your condition? If not then yeah, you'd better move to a free state.

Thirdly, it just shows how stupid drug laws are.

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Yeah, there are legal alternatives but, for me, they don’t work as well. The side effects are unpleasant and I have to take them every day, regardless of how I am feeling as they have to stay built up in the system. With a vape pen I can hit it when I need it and as little or as much as I need it. And the effects are pretty quick.

Rexedgar said:

Glad it turned out ok, sorry about the weed. I had a friend do a similar deal, va to nv and back. Worked out, thought of Glenn Frey while reading, "be cool for twenty hours and I'll pay ya twenty grand." Do you think it is routine to call K-9? When it suddenly dawns on you what consequences you can be in for, it's hard to control and be calm, all those chemicals bouncing around telling you fight/flight. Try to sleep well.....

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I don’t know if it is routine. But I will say the cops were out in force yesterday and I saw a lot of people pulled over. Also, the K-9 unit got to the scene within like 2 or 3 minutes. Maybe out of state cars on that route from Colorado are prime targets for fishing?

Skeptic Bob said:

I don’t know if it is routine. But I will say the cops were out in force yesterday and I saw a lot of people pulled over. Also, the K-9 unit got to the scene within like 2 or 3 minutes. Maybe out of state cars on that route from Colorado are prime targets for fishing?

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There was a OK poster who chimed in and claimed that portion of highway is given better notice than others. I get the K-9 thing in airports and public places, but since you exercised your right and declined to give permission for a search, couldn't an argument be made that using the dog to 'search' is a violation since you declined? Not looking to derail, just thought came up.........

Crovax said:

Why not get a prescription for xananx?

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I have. And while it kicks in pretty quickly it lasts too damn long. That is ok if you are just trying to get to sleep but I find it counter productive for just taking the edge off during the day.

But also my issue has less to do with anxiety, which Xanax would probably handle just fine. It is hard to describe. I will get moments sometimes where I get caught in a memory loop. I’ll keep reliving that same moment over and over for hours at a time. I don’t understand the mechanism but some hits on a weed vape pen helps me break the loop. Xanax doesn’t break the loop, it just make the loop less stressful. It is the same with other anti-anxiety/anti-depressants. They’re better than nothing, though.

Fenton Lum said:

Yeah, MO would be oh so different.

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Totally different terrain, more cars on 70, and the likelihood of being pulled over for hogging the Left Lane much lower. OK is just miles and miles of flat nothing. So, a cop can easily shadow you from a mile back and watch your every move.

Skeptic Bob said:

tldr: Skeptic Bob gets pulled over by cops. They take his weed and let him go. Skeptic Bob still whines like a bitch despite his good luck.

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Hell of a story.

I certainly sympathize with your condition. I have some PTSD from past events and often have trouble sleeping as a result, as well. Probably not as bad as what you're dealing with, but enough to sympathize certainly.

I couldn't use weed.... have to stay clean for work.

As for what happened to you with the Okie cops... well, you were lucky. If you weren't a vet, you might have been busted for intent. If the cop wasn't a vet, maybe same. If you'd done or said anything different who knows.

We have a very peculiar situation in the US where you can legally buy or have X in this state, but not in that state, and maybe not by Fed law, and maybe get busted for legally buying X in one state and passing through another. I'm thinking of more than just weed.

On the one hand I think some might resent that you got off mainly because you're a vet, where someone not a vet but with equal need might have been in BIG trouble.

On the other hand even when I was in LE, lots of cops were no longer busting people for simple weed possession unless there was some other reason they wanted to arrest them (like suspicion of other things, or general assholery). This in a conservative state where weed is not legal for any purpose.

I support full and complete legalization of weed, from production to sales to end user, as I don't feel the prohibition is overall of benefit to society. I don't use the stuff myself and don't wish to, but anyway.



Well, you were both lucky and unlucky, but more of the former. Call it a learning experience I suppose.

Hawkeye10 said:

Keep in mind that even were weed is legal you are likely going to end up being forced to choose either weed or guns, you cant have both. My wife has the nightmares but for some reason the weed does not help. I know how much that sucks.

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I think Nevada is the only state that allows both.

Though obviously, regardless of the law, I never carried while under the influence just as I never drive under the influence.

Goshin said:

Hell of a story.

I certainly sympathize with your condition. I have some PTSD from past events and often have trouble sleeping as a result, as well. Probably not as bad as what you're dealing with, but enough to sympathize certainly.

I couldn't use weed.... have to stay clean for work.

As for what happened to you with the Okie cops... well, you were lucky. If you weren't a vet, you might have been busted for intent. If the cop wasn't a vet, maybe same. If you'd done or said anything different who knows.

We have a very peculiar situation in the US where you can legally buy or have X in this state, but not in that state, and maybe not by Fed law, and maybe get busted for legally buying X in one state and passing through another. I'm thinking of more than just weed.

On the one hand I think some might resent that you got off mainly because you're a vet, where someone not a vet but with equal need might have been in BIG trouble.

On the other hand even when I was in LE, lots of cops were no longer busting people for simple weed possession unless there was some other reason they wanted to arrest them (like suspicion of other things, or general assholery). This in a conservative state where weed is not legal for any purpose.

I support full and complete legalization of weed, from production to sales to end user, as I don't feel the prohibition is overall of benefit to society. I don't use the stuff myself and don't wish to, but anyway.



Well, you were both lucky and unlucky, but more of the former. Call it a learning experience I suppose.

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Since it was vape fluid, legally purchased, and since he said it was for his own use, it probably laid a better foundation for being set free than if he had a pound of illegally purchased grass in a garbage bag. But, I still think it sucks to lose a G-note like that. Especially since it is something he is using to cope with an actual medical condition.